This week is focusing on the “dark side” of the web – can this also be applied to marketing?

Marketers deem misinformation as a subject derived from consumer perception of a message through a medium (Russo et al, 1981), potentially affected by consumer intelligence, interpretation, understanding, vulnerability, evaluation standards and methods (Bernacchi, 1976). In contrast, a deliberate attempt to misinform a consumer through a medium is deemed as deceptive or false advertising (Bernacchi, 1976; LaTour & LaTour, 2009). Even so, these terms seem to be used interchangeably (Mintz, 2002) and exist on a continuum determined by the mediums’ effectiveness (Rycyna et al, 2009) and the technology in question (Mintz, 2002).

It is evident that the Web has increased the scale, impact and reach of the dissemination of corporate information (Mintz, 2002). With this, misinformation is spread in much the same way, using the Web to facilitate the rapid, global reach of the message (Mintz, 2002). Further to this, as we have seen in the rapid growth of spam and ‘get-rich-quick’ adverts, users are empowered to forge their own marketing media to misinform and mislead others (Kanich et al, 2009), using the Web as a distribution platform (Mintz, 2002). Nevertheless, measures, such as naming non-compliants (ASA, 2013), have been taken to curb the launch of misinforming, misleading or deceptive advertising over the Web.

However monitoring the sheer level of information distributed through the Web appears to be an endless task and an inevitable drain on governmental resources (Vedder, 2001), and so, misinformation continues to spread. In addition, such misinforming, misleading or deceptive media are used as direct marketing tools to leverage revenue, conversions and website traffic from consumer vulnerability and lack of understanding (Karson et al, 2006). This constitutes an attractive, ‘quick-and-easy’ way for many users on the Web to perform such deceptive techniques. Moreover, knowledge and information of successful misleading marketing tactics are spread over the Web to encourage others, producing a ‘snowballing effect’. Thus, the Web facilitates the spread of information regarding how to produce effective misinformation, to obtain revenue, traffic and/or conversions.

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In week 3 we move from networks to the challenges of cyber security. MOOC learners may be interested in finding out more about the University’s activities in this area:

Protecting users against the dangers of the “dark web” is one of the activities of the GCHQ/EPSRC Academic Centre of Excellence for Research in Cyber Security at the University of Southampton. The Centre, one of 11 in the whole country, contributes knowledge, understanding and innovation to the protection of critical infrastructures, users, their data and interests, and connects activities across electronic and software systems, advanced networking and protocols, cyber-risk behaviour, cybercrime, social and legal acceptability of cyber regulations, and physical and cyber identity management.

If you are interested learning more about issues of privacy, trust and anonymity on the web, alongside social, ethical and legal responsibilities, you will be interested in our Cyber Security Seminar Series. Follow us on Twitter @CybSecSoton to know more.

Professor V. Sassone,
Cybersecurity Southampton, Director
Twitter @v_sassone

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My research interest is cryptocurrencies, the most popular of  which you may have heard of is called Bitcoin. Its open source nature has lead to more Bitcoin-inspired cryptocurrencies being created.

Cryptocurrencies in Brief
Cryptocurrencies are a new form of online currency where payments have a high level of anonymity, they’re quicker and most likely cheaper than existing online payment systems, especially for international transactions. They are fully decentralised which means there is not central point of failure or control. Nobody can reverse, stop or change transactions. They’re powered by peer-to-peer software which means everyone who runs the client software plays a role in running the network.

Upsides and downsides to Cryptocurrencies
Unfortunately, because there’s money, and a high level of anonymity, there’s crime. The media likes to focus on this a lot, rather than the legitimate benefits these currencies can provide.

I see cryptocurrencies as novel, unique, useful and empowering. However, they appear to facilitate certain scams, thefts and other jurisdiction specific crime. In that sense, it’s very similar to the Web.

My Interest: Cryptocurrency Related Fraud
My interest is in looking at crime with these currencies. I use my knowledge from my undergraduate in computing science to understand the software and how it works – what realistically is possible based on the existing code?  I’m now based in the criminology department, looking into fraud literature and how it ties in with cryptocurrency related fraud. I’d like to compile a list of, and analyse thefts, scams and other fraud with cryptocurrencies.  I’d like to try and speak to some of the perpetrators of such crimes and understand what their relationship is with the software – did they engage in this behaviour before they found the Web.

Hopefully my research can offer some insights or solutions to the problem of scams and thefts with cryptocurrencies in such a way that doesn’t hinder the underlying concepts of decentralisation and privacy.

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Briefly tell me what your session is going to be about –
The session provides an overview of some of the issues that have developed around cyber security and the threats to our activities on the web. A lot of what takes place on the web echoes activity that takes place away from the web. Many crimes that we regard as cybercrimes are just extensions of crimes that have historically taken place off-line. Similarly, we look at the role of trust in cybercrime and look at how this is a key factor that enables deviant activity to take place, just as it does in non-deviant forms of behaviour, such as legitimate commerce.

What are the main aims you want to achieve? –
The aim of the session is to introduce students to the range of activities that threaten the security of the web and our use of it. We introduce students to a wide range of different research projects that we are currently undertaking at the University of Southampton. This research represents the cutting edge of our attempt to understand cybercrime, drawing on a range of different disciplines making this a prime example of the power of the Web Science project.

How will the learners benefit? –
Students will become aware of the role that their behaviour has on their web security, they will also see how criminology has combined with other disciplines to form an essential part of web science.

What excites you most about delivering this session within the Web Science MOOC? –Introducing students to the synthesis of criminological ideas with other disciplines to ask some challenging questions, and hopefully show some of the answers.

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Links to the particular interview will be added once the interview is published.

Susan Halford and Les Carr – Introduction to Web Science

Chris Phethean – Economy

Mark Weal – Democracy

Lisa Harris – Economy

Ian Brown – Economy

Reuben Binns – Economy

Lorraine Warren – Economy

Phil Waddell – Democracy

David Millard – Networks

Craig Webber – Security

Susan Halford and Les Carr – What Next?

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